From The Consortium News
By Brent Budowsky

President-elect Obama will take office with a mission similar to Franklin Roosevelt’s: establishing both a war Cabinet and an emergency economic Cabinet.

President-elect Obama faces tensions with Russia, multiple wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with the possibility of a new mini-depression if strong and effective action is not taken.

Like FDR, Obama must confront these grave economic and foreign policy crises simultaneously. Plus, he must deal with a U.S. military that is suffering extreme damage to its readiness and requiring a substantial and costly rebuild. …

I would advise a war Cabinet tapping officials with decades of experience and with many veterans getting top positions. Those in high diplomatic posts would have extensive military experience. Those in high military posts would have extensive diplomatic skills, as in Franklin Roosevelt’s war Cabinet of interchangeable, mutually supportive parts.

Obama’s war Cabinet might look like this:

–Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, as secretary of State with New Mexico’s Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and Dr. Susan Rice as undersecretaries with upgraded roles.

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